Aion Primer

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It's the big subscription-based MMO this year, so what's it about?

By Jason Ocampo

Aion is an MMO that's coming to US shores later this year after successfully debuting in Asia in 2008. And while it's relatively easy to say that this is the biggest launch of a subscription-based MMO this year (there aren't many more contenders for this particular crown), the game is generating an impressive amount of excitement and buzz. However, you might be wondering about the game; after all, it spent much of the past few years under the radar while other major MMOs, including Warhammer Online, Age of Conan, and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, came and launched. So we've put together a simple primer about the game.

So what is it? This is the latest fantasy MMO from NCsoft, the big South Korean MMO company known for Lineage, Lineage II, City of Heroes, and Guild Wars. NCsoft has offices on both sides of the Pacific; Lineage and its sequel were developed in South Korea, while City of Heroes was done by Cryptic Studios and Guild Wars by subsidiary ArenaNet. (NCsoft has since purchased the rights to City of Heroes from Cryptic and built Paragon Studios to support it.) Aion was developed by the company's South Korean-based team, though NCsoft has its Seattle office busy working on the Western edition.

Where is it set? Imagine a hollow world where the inhabitants live on the inside of the sphere. Then imagine the world being sundered at the equator, with the northern and southern hemispheres tethered together. That's the world of Atrea, where Aion takes place. Atrea was created by the god Aion, but it was split apart by a cataclysmic event. The northern hemisphere is called Asmodae, and it's basically a blighted, inhospitable wasteland. The southern hemisphere is Elysea, and it's a lush paradise. The gist is that if you're standing in Asmodae and look up, you can see Elysea filling the sky above you, and vice versa.

Who's who? There are three major races in the game, but only two of them are playable. You can create an Asmodean or an Elyos. The two factions have warred with each other for centuries. The Asmodean and the Elyos are closely related, and as you'd expect, they look like dashing, good-looking figures, whether they're clad in wizard robes or spiky armor.

The third race is the Balaur, a demonic faction that was created by the god Aion and later rebelled. The Balaur inhabit the Abyss, the void that separates Asmodae from Elysea. The Balaur are all computer-controlled, and you cannot create a Balaur character.

What's so special? Aion features what's called PvPvE, or Player-versus-Player-versus-Environment gameplay. Player will join the Asmodean or Elyos cause and battle the opposing faction in the Abyss, where the computer-controlled Balaur lurk.

Oh, there's also the point that both Asmodean and Elyos characters work toward gaining wings that let them soar about. This adds a whole new dimension to travel and combat, and you can customize and improve your flying abilities over the course of the game, though you might do so at the expense of ground abilities.

Aion is also a very pretty game, and it uses a modified version of Crytek's first-generation CryEngine, the one that powered Far Cry. (Crysis was built on the second-generation CryEngine.)

What are the classes? The classes are familiar if you've played RPGs before, and there are four primary classes that split into eight specialized classes at level 10. At the base level there are mages, priests, scouts, and warriors. At a specialized level there are sorcerers and spiritmasters (a summoning specialist), chanters and clerics (the former is a buffer, the latter a healer), assassins and rangers, and gladiators and templars.

Is there crafting? Yes, everything from weaponsmithing, armorsmithing, to cooking. All players can gather resources, but they must learn additional skills to specialize in a particular crafting profession.

When's it coming out? Aion has launched in South Korea, China, and Taiwan. It launches in the US and Canada on September 22, with the European launch following three days later on September 25.